Various items are transported throughout the world. For example, various products are transported throughout the world on pallets. Items such as the products and the product-supporting pallets are typically transported in a wide variety of transport containers (such as trailers towed by semi-trailer trucks and cargo containers).
In certain instances, when items such as product-supporting pallets (with products thereon) are loaded into one of these transport containers, the product-supporting pallets completely fill the transport container. However, in many instances, when items such as product-supporting pallets (with products thereon) are loaded into one of these transport containers, the product-supporting pallets do not completely fill the transport container. For example, a transport container having a maximum capacity of twenty-eight product-supporting pallets may only include twenty-three product-supporting pallets in a given shipment. Since this shipment includes less than the maximum capacity of product-supporting pallets, certain of the product-supporting pallets are arranged side by side and one or more other product-supporting pallets are each centrally positioned (relative to the side walls of the transport container) to fill the transport container from front to back.
In such situations, the centrally positioned items such as product-supporting pallets can move or slide laterally during movement of the transport container. For example, a centrally positioned product-supporting pallet in a trailer being towed by a semi-trailer truck may move or slide laterally when the semi-trailer truck turns. Such lateral movement can cause the loads provided by the product-supporting pallets to vary during transport and become unevenly distributed. This introduces instability into the transport container during transport, and can increase the difficulty of maneuvering the vehicle transporting the transport container. Additionally, such lateral movement can cause damage to the product-supporting pallets themselves or the products thereon. For example, a centrally positioned product-supporting pallet may slide toward and collide with the side wall of the transport container, causing damage to the product-supporting pallet and/or the products thereon.
One proposed solution to such problems involves nailing or spiking lumber to the floor of the transport container to limit lateral movement of a centrally positioned item such as a product-supporting pallet. Specifically, in this proposed solution, a piece of lumber that extends between one of the sides of the product-supporting pallet and the respective side wall of the transport container is nailed into the floor of the transport container, and another piece of lumber that extends between the other side of the product-supporting pallet and the respective side wall of the transport container is nailed into the floor of the transport container.
While this proposed solution may limit lateral movement of the centrally positioned item such as the product-supporting pallet, it introduces additional problems. First, this proposed solution is material intensive in that it requires the use of multiple nails and multiple pieces of lumber. Second, the nails and the lumber of this proposed solution are not reusable. Third, this proposed solution is labor intensive. Specifically, this proposed solution requires a worker to: gather a piece lumber of the correct size or cut a piece of lumber to the correct size, position the piece of lumber between one of the sides of the product-supporting pallet and the respective side wall of the transport container, locate a hammer and nails or a nail gun, use the hammer and nails or the nail gun to nail the piece of lumber into place, and repeat the process on the other side. This proposed solution also requires a worker to remove the lumber and nails from the floor of the transport container when the transport container reaches its destination. Fourth, this proposed solution damages the floor of the transport container. Fifth, nails that are not completely removed from the floor of the transport container create a safety hazard and a risk of damage to product-supporting pallets loaded into the same transport container in the future. Sixth, the floors of certain transport containers include a steel plate that may prevent the lumber from being nailed into the floor of the transport container, rendering this proposed solution unusable. Seventh, the use of untreated lumber in this proposed solution can create an infestation problem that may require the entire transport container (including the product-supporting pallet and the products thereon) to be fumigated before being unloaded.
Accordingly, there is a need for new and improved manners of stabilizing items such as product-supporting pallets in transport containers that overcome these disadvantages.